Allen Fails To Disclose Stock Options

Congress Requires Such Disclosures To Avoid Conflicts Of Interest

(AP)  Sen. George Allen, locked in a tight re-election race, still holds stock options from his time as director of a high-tech company, but has failed to disclose them to the Congress and the public the past five years.

The Virginia Republican also asked the Army to help another business that gave him similar options.

Congressional rules require senators to disclose to the Senate all deferred compensation, such as stock options. The rules also urge senators to avoid taking any official action that could benefit them financially or appear to do so.

Those requirements exist so the public can police lawmakers for possible conflicts of interest, especially involving companies with government business that lawmakers can influence.

Allen's stock options date to the period from January 1998 to January 2001, when Allen was between political jobs and had plunged into the corporate world. At least twice during his corporate service, companies told the SEC that Allen had failed to promptly file required reports on insider stock transactions.

In March 1999, Commonwealth reported to the SEC that Allen failed to "timely file" a report showing an initial statement of beneficial ownership in the company and a single acquisition of stock. The transactions were subsequently reported, it said.

In April 2000, Xybernaut told the SEC that Allen and all but one of his fellow directors failed to file statements of beneficial ownership in a timely way.

The SEC makes it the responsibility of directors, not their companies, to file insider stock notifications. Those who file them late can face civil penalties.

Allen's office said he considered it the companies' responsibility to file the reports and the SEC never contacted him or took action against him.

In interviews, Allen and his staff sought to play down his corporate dealings, saying they were a good learning experience but did not lead to extraordinary riches — except for a quarter-million-dollar windfall from Com-Net Ericsson stock.

Allen's office said he sold his Xybernaut stock at a loss and has not cashed in his Commonwealth options because they cost more than the stock is now worth. The senator also said he saw no conflict going to work for companies shortly after assisting them as governor.

"I actually got no money out of Xybernaut. I got paid in stock options which were worthless. Commonwealth Biotech asked me to be on their board. Glad to do it. I learned a lot on their board and enjoyed working with 'em, and they seem to be doing all right, I guess," Allen said.

Allen's office said he did not report his Commonwealth options on his past five Senate disclosure reports because their purchase price was higher than the current market value. Allen viewed them as worthless and believed in "good faith" he did not have to report them, aides said.

Allen disclosed the options once — on an amendment to his 2000 ethics report filed three months after the normal filing period ended. He excluded the options from subsequent reports.

"As an ethical matter, it's irrelevant whether the exercise price of those stock options is above or below the current market price of the stock," said Kathleen Clark, a Washington University of St. Louis law professor, former prosecutor and former Democratic congressional aide.

"If he owns stock options, he does have such a financial stake, whether the exercise price is above or below current market value."

Lawyer Marc Elias, who represents Democrats in ethics cases, said the conflict issue is even clearer because Commonwealth gets federal contracts.

"Unlike some other controversies that have come up from time to time, this is a situation where the underlying asset is in a company that has business before Congress," Elias said.

Allen's office acknowledges he has met socially over the years with company executives and his office has granted "routine courtesy meetings" from company lobbyists "to hear their opinion on legislation and issues before the federal government."

[pakaal]

George Allen: "What does 'congressional requirements' mean?" It means just follow the rules of disclosure and everything will be fine. How hard is that? The great thing about this story is it's another gift that keeps on giving. Go Senator Allen! Don't give in to that conniving Liberal conspiracy! Just keep refusing to disclose the options - that we all now know about anyway. That's sure to win you the ethical vote!

[rbird8728]

Here we go again! Anyone who does not agree with me must be involved in a liberal bias. What about a Bible-thumping conservative bias! It plays both ways, you know. People who are in elective office (of both parties) seem to feel that God has reached out and blessed them and, consequently, they are immune to any kind of law that they don't agree with. Ugh! Same song, different verse.

[usawatchman]

Do worry people we have a DUEL JUSTICE SYSTEM
One for the Government & one for the people
POLITICIANS and BUREAUCRATS are IMMUNE to
COMMIT CRIMES against the People
====
== 10/05/06
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
James B. Veasaw v. Cari M. Domingues,et al.
No: 05-1467
The Petition for Writ of Certiorari was denied
http://search.access.gpo.gov/supreme-court/SearchRight.asp?ct=Supreme-Court-Dockets&q1=05-1467&x=31&y=26
=====
The court RULED by NONFEASANCE
that the POLITICIANS and BUREAUCRATS are IMMUNE to
COMMIT CRIMES against the People
without the fear of RETRIBUTION in the COURTS
2) FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAMS
are WORK PROGRAMS designed
to give CRONIES and BUREAUCRATS high paying Jobs
3) Citizens of this country must PASS LITERARY TESTS
in order to receive PROTECTION in the COURTS
(i.e. say the "MAGIC WORDS" for justice)
(i.e. put the "MAGIC WORDS" on " MAGIC PAPER ")
4) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS EXEMPT FROM ALL LAWS
(including the great Government EXTORTION MACHINE "" EEOC "")
5) THE US SUPREME COURT IS CORRUPT
6) Apparently THE PETITIONER can GET MORE JUSTICE WITH A $10 BOX OF AMMO, THAN WHAT CAN EVER BE FOUND IN ALL THE CORRUPT UNITED
STATES COURT ROOMS.?

[huskerarmy]

Sure BCS is at fault for reporting this story. Why don't they stop their liberal bias and report on something that affects America like Fox does... a missing, blond co-ed or lacross rape scandal. Hey everybody, Paris and Nicole are back together!!!

[jsilver2th]

If he didn't get any money out of it he's dumber than he looks or maybe he should say he hadn't gotten his money out of it yet or maybe you guys should get Ann Coulter on this and blame the 9/11 widows or get that junky Rush Limbaugh to explain why John Kerry is at fault here. Your loosing control of Congress boys- get over it.

[aristotle11]

He didn't make a profit off the stock, but he intervened to prevent the stock from losing more value. So he really did try to profit, in a way, since he tried to stop losing more money off the stock.

[whight]

Another GOP ***. What has happened to this country. We are being ruled (ruined) by a bunch of Idiots.

[energyecon]

Repeat after me - Senator Webb!

Allen is such a poster child for GOP excess and hypocrisy you could not make this stuff up!

[pakaal]

Allen's response to illegal behavior: "I actually got no money out [of the deal]".

What part of "Did not follow congressional requirements" doesn't he get? All Allen needed to do is say "Oops, I made a mistake, let me clear this up". So many Representatives and Senators misfile, underfile, overfile, omit, mislabel, etc. This shouldn't even BE a story! So why is it? Because Allen refuses to say "I made a mistake", the absolute least he needs to do to have this all die down.

Good timing, Senator Allen, I'm sure your contemporaries are really happy there's yet another scandal going on just before midterms, I'm sure that really helps Republican chances in November.

[diamtool]

ooo --doggy this guy now instantly qualifies for a top level Bush administration appointment. He shouldn't even have to run, he just fits in so good with what they got up there already!

[oleander8]

janem4 sounds like a clone of shutupmurtha - haven't heard much from him since he was accused of being stooge for CBS to stir up the comments on their stories.

[huskerarmy]

"I notice you still haven't covered any stories on Webb, the guy who took joy rides through Watts shouting racial slurs and pretending to shoot people."

You have got to hand it to her. Jane knows how to spin with the best of them...

Regarding the claims against Webb, they were made by a man named Dan Cragg. Cragg said Webb told him the Watts story during a 1983 interview for a Vietnam veterans magazine. Cragg, who described himself as a Republican who would vote for Allen (regardless), did not include the story in his article. He also provided a transcript of the interview, but the transcript does not contain the ROTC story.

A number of Allen's former teammates, frat brothers and others have said that he refers to blacks using the "N-Word" routinely and he once put a dead deer's head in a black family's mail box. Links below:

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/09/27/allen_deerhead/index_np.html

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/09/24/allen_football/

[Geneius]

That janem4 is one busy republican. I knew it wouldn't take her long to show up here.
I have a feeling she is going to be kept busy.

janem4 apparantly wants to pick a fight over someone shouting racial slurs. As an American who is black I have heard those slurs since I can remember. The real issues you'd like discussed are the very ones that Allen won't face. Like the continuing rising of the national debt, the failed policy of the Iraq war, the sagging economy, health care! No, he wants to talk about immigration, how the war in Iraq will curb terrorism, anti-abortion. Use to lean on the gay issue but got blind sided by one in his own party. Racial slurs? Don't mean a thing to this American. I have a feeling it doesn't mean squat to YOU!

[nynative1340]

Jane, Democrats don't seem smart enough to hide anything. The Republicans are the self-declared Family Value, Christian-Right party. Why don't they act like it. The Republicans claim that Democrats have no family values, no Christian morals, blah, blah, blah. Ha Ha Ha. Bush won both times with a very thin margin; so much for moral majority.

One of my ancestors, Joshua R. Giddings, served over 20 years in Congress and, along with Benjamin Wade and a few others, established the platform for the Republican party, the party of Lincoln. I suspect they are rolling in their graves now, because of how immoral the party has become.

[rharrin1]

allen is supposed to know the law or is he a idiot or the same old lapse of memory the gop has been throwing out there.( the good faith people )

[nynative1340]

The Republican party has a veil of secrecy that hides their shady and sometimes outright illegal activities. How ironic that the party of the Christian Right would have so much secrecy and immoral activities. It makes Christian Right an oxymoron, more like christian wrong.